Close Your Eyes
by Psychopath Kingdom
Summary: "It is normal to feel discomfort during the procedure. We have many... guests, that you will be able to talk about it with afterwards, who have undergone the same experience. For now, however, we must implore you to close your eyes, and allow us to begin the surgery. I do hope you make it out alive."
1. Chapter 1: Road Trip

"Annie! Bethie! Annabethabanana!" a boy with messy black hair drummed his feet against the seat in front of him. The amber sky casted a rusty hue that filtered through the tinted windows of the grandfather-like car they were puttering along in. The stench of smoke that was so deeply integrated in the seats was starting to cling to the clothes of everyone in the car.

The driver's glare felt palpable to Annabeth as she turned around to scold her best friend. "Seaweed Brain! We're in separate seats so that we're not so loud!"

"I give up," Gabe sighed in annoyance, giving Annabeth a jut of his greasy head in Percy's direction. "Go sit with him. But you twerps better be quiet."

"Yes," Annabeth ducked her head and unbuckled her seatbelt, scurrying behind the front seat to where Percy sat. The second she was sitting beside him he patted her head and glowered at Gabe. Annabeth closed her eyes and tried to pretend for a second that she wasn't driving with Gabe, she wasn't scared, and Percy could stand up and protect her from the foreboding feeling that was gnawing at the edges of her mind.

"It'll be alright, Annie," he gave her his typical the devil-may-care grin and mussed her long and curly blonde hair. "In a few weeks, we'll be back at school, and it'll only be us."

Annabeth's worried expression faltered into a hopeful smile. She loved going to boarding school with Percy; _it meant almost a year of no obnoxious stepfathers, no wicked stepmothers, and another year of being together_. It was the way they had always been. The name Annabeth had been linked with Percy since as long as she could remember. The most wonderful pre-disposition anybody could ask for.

"I can't believe we're starting middle school this year," her smile was blindingly sweet and beautiful, her voice a contrast to her attitude in its solemn whisper. Everyday Percy was becoming more and more conscious of his childhood's friend tendency to look pretty almost every time his glance turned her way. "I feel like it's going to be such an amazing experience full of new knowledge and life lessons—"

Percy clamped a hand over her mouth and shook his head. "Just say fun. Normal people say fun."

"Well I'm not exactly normal," she glared at him, oblivious to the gleam that shined in Gabe's eyes as he turned on to another road. This road was probably the great-uncle of all the others; its ancient dirt path could barely pass off as a make-shift trail in the forest, much less an actual road. Annabeth's intelligent mind barely registered the fewer cars that passed by Gabe's Camaro.

"Aw, but I still love you Annie," he crooned quietly, enveloping her in an over-bearing hug.

"And I can still tolerate you, despite your abnormalities as well," Annabeth smirked and pushed him away to the other side of the car.

"My abnormality is kick-as—"

"I was referring to the abnormalities in your personality."

"Man, we need to fix _your_ personality!" Percy laughed, his jade eyes twinkling as Annabeth launched over the seats back to him, wrapping her slender but strong fingers around his throat.

"What was that?" she hissed as she attempted to strangle him.

"Shut the hell up!" Gabe growled at the wrestling 11-year-olds. "I don't need your fucking noise in my car."

The two children's immediate silence was a feeble attempt to appease Gabe's foul mood. Their hands found each other's as they have every time they were forced to deal with step-parents. Whether it was the intimidating and unexpected fury of Percy's stepfather, _or the nasty side-comments made by Annabeth's stepmother, the best solace they could find was in each other._

"Um, excuse me, Mr. G-Gabe?" Annabeth stuttered softly, finally noticing her surroundings. As opposed to the familiar palm trees that usually appeared on their trip to Montauk, she only saw mossy green pine trees and dark brown trunks. This trip usually wasn't even taken with Gabe. The driver was typically Percy's wonderful mom, Sally Jackson, but Gabe had insisted on taking them down to the beach this time. "I don't think we're going in the right direction."

"No, Annabeth," his smile was chilling and Annabeth hated that goose bumps appeared on her skin. From now on, she didn't want goose bumps whenever she talked to Percy's step-dad. "I'm taking you where you need to go."

"Actually, Gabe," chimed in Percy, his gaze gelid compared to its usual warmth. "This doesn't look like Montauk at all."

"I'm taking you where you need to go," Gabe repeated, turning down another road.

Percy had an ominous feeling in his stomach. He leaned over to Annabeth and whispered in her ear, "Annabeth, I think you need to use it. We need to know where he's taking us."

"But Percy…" Annabeth trailed off.

Percy knew she didn't want to, because she rarely used his name. She once said she preferred the small amount of deprecation she could provide him with just by saying his name every day, 'Seaweed Brain'. "Annabeth, I feel like it's important."

"Fine." She closed her eyes and shut out her senses.

Darkness swirled around shutting out Percy's voice, the odor of cigarettes, the unfamiliar scenery, and she _breathed_.

A coarse voice broke through her state of nothingness. _"So much money. Just for the runts? Why shouldn't I? They'll take 'em off my hands. Knew the kids were freaks since the day I met 'em. So much money."_

Annabeth gasped for air as her eyes shot open, leaning over and wrapping her arms around herself, trying to hold it all together. Percy felt sick knowing that he left her in this state, but he also knew that they needed the information only her gift could provide them with.

"We need to get out," she breathed, her sterling silver eyes wide and her breath short.

Percy nodded and thought of the quickest plan. He grabbed Annabeth's hand and flicked the lock on the door. With a smirk playing on his face and his eyes fixed on the road ahead, Gabe paid no attention to Percy and Annabeth. Percy squeezed her hand and whispered, "We're going to get away. Together."

He whipped open the car door and leaped out of the car, pulling Annabeth along with him. They hit the road hard, and Percy swore he heard something crack in his hand when he tried to cushion the blow. They eventually were stopped by the impact of hitting a tree, leaving a cursing Gabe and a door swinging in the breezebehind.

Percy leaned against the tree and clutched his aching shoulder, but doing so almost ripped a scream of pain from his throat. Clearly that cracking noise had been a broken finger or two. He finally looked over to see Annabeth already on her feet, limping slightly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she waved him off, her face pale and her striking blonde hair tainted with dirt and blood from the cut on her forehead. "We need to get away from Gabe."

"Where the hell are you brats?!" they both cringed when they heard Gabe's roar.

"Now." Annabeth grabbed Percy's slightly less broken hand and they moved as fast as they could with Annabeth's injured foot. Even though it felt like they were speeding through the forest, Gabe's lumbering footsteps seemed to come closer and closer. Finally, they ran into two men in camouflage trudging through the forest.

"Please! You have to help us; a man is coming to kidnap us!" Annabeth panted, out of breath, clutching the side of jacket of the man with the blonde hair and a long scar running down his face.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down kid, what's your name?" he asked, voice full of concern.

"My name is Annabeth, his is Percy!" Annabeth continued to force the words out of her mouth. "He's going to hurt us, we need your help!"

"Hold on kid, let me just grab something," the man reached into his back pocket and grabbed something. Annabeth waited anxiously until finally he pulled the object out, and slammed it against her head. Annabeth dropped to the ground, completely unconscious. Percy didn't even spend the time to let his jaw drop before going after the blonde man. With his broken fingers and injured shoulder, though, he barely stood a chance and was quickly taken down in the same way as his best friend.

Minutes later, Gabe burst into the area, breathing heavily. "Where the hell—What are you two doing here?"

"We heard shouts and decided that we should investigate, and maybe help out," the other black-haired man's lips crept up into a smile. "We were intending on helping, but unfortunately their names had to be Percy and Annabeth."

Gabe gave the pair a slimy smile. "Well, now that you have them, where's my money?"

"We're going to give you that, and more," the blonde winked at Gabe. "We'll give you the money, and an alibi."

The black-haired man placed a stack of hundred-dollar bills in Gabe's hand as the blonde pulled out a gun. He quickly shot Gabe in the leg and got the immediate reaction of Gabe's shout of pain. "There. Now you have your money, we have our specimen, and you tried your best to get the children back from the kidnappers, but were injured and unable to do so. Goodbye."

**Hi guys! Obviously I don't own Percy Jackson. Though I am working on that in my current legal battle with Uncle Rick. My lawyer has a blade made of imperial gold, so I think I have a good shot at winning. Hope you liked my first chapter, and please give me reviews and feed back, because this is my first Percy Jackson fan fic! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Maze

**Well I'm back! I'd love to delude myself into believing that you missed me, but realistically, you probably didn't! So here's the next chapter, and guess who we're introducing? My favorite little emo boy! Enjoy pleoples.**

"Now, Hazel," the cold female voice buzzed over the intercom, "Nico is behind several cement walls in front of you. Your task is to find the correct underground pathway from the series of tunnels we will provide you with, and locate him. Oh, and I must warn you, you should make haste. Sometimes the guards handle our guests… roughly."

Sweat poured down Hazel's face. She was exhausted and her whole body was throbbing with pain, but she needed to get to Nico. How many times had they used him as bait for her? She couldn't count. All she could do at this point was push through the horribly familiar routine of going out to save her brother once again.

"Begin."

Hazel dropped down the entrance that they made for her and landed with a thud. She should have figured that she wasn't strong enough to support those kinds of falls right now. She shook off the spike of pain in her ankles and concentrated. She wanted to reach Nico. She needed to reach Nico. These tunnels were going to lead her straight to him, because she can't risk him getting hurt.

"Hazel, you're running a bit slowly… I hope you haven't forgotten about your brother."

_Right._

Hazel immediately turned to the right, running down the poorly and hastily constructed tunnels. The words kept flying through her mind; _left, left, right, forward, right_, the monotonous directions allowing her to concentrate on something other than her rising panic.

Finally, she encountered a locked door. She just knew Nico was behind there. She pounded on the metal and shouted, "Nico?!"

"Wrong door, Hazel," Hazel could hear the sick woman's smile as it reverberated through the tunnel. "Would you like to try again?"

Hazel sighed and slumped against the wall. Another test. "I know this is the right door, Dr. Hera. I know Nico's behind there."

There was a pause. "Correct. You may see him now."

The door unlocked and Hazel burst through it as fast as she could. Nico was being restrained by two burly men against the back wall as he struggled against their strength. "Let me go you bastards! I need to find—Hazel!"

On the sound of her name, the two men relinquished their grip on the adolescent and left the room for the time being. A "reward" as the facility liked to phrase it. Hazel rushed towards Nico and enveloped him in a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he pushed aside her concern and pulled back so he could assess her condition. His dark eyes paused on her trembling legs and bruised arms. "Constraints? Shock evaluation?"

Hazel gave him a tired nod. Today they had chosen her as the prime test subject. Prior to the experiments, they would typically crush their wrists and ankles against a frigid lab table so they would stay put during the first brain scan. They wanted to know why. Why she could do what she did; obviously they haven't been successful so far.

Next, is the electro-shock evaluation. They send electrical shocks through the nerves they believe to control the power, or curse as she preferred to put it, and see how her power responds. All they ever received was a weary and in-agony patient and a lack of results. Their powers weren't connected to their bodies. It was in their hearts; their souls.

They never spoke of that though, because Nico and Hazel were both almost positive that there would be surgery done on the left side of their chest if they ever voiced their opinions. Nico lifted her head and gently patted her cheek. "Sorry."

"Sorry for what?" she laughed, not really finding anything funny though. "I'm supposed to be taking care of you anyway."

She was the older one for that matter. 14-year-olds shouldn't have to worry about protecting their 17-year-old sister. Despite the firm belief she held in this idea, she was completely helpless when they would take Nico away for the day's experiments.

"That kind of principle shattered the moment we arrived," Nico gave her a knowing look. "We look out for each other. Not you just looking out for me."

Hazel blew out a frustrated breath that made her cinnamon bangs fly off her forehead. No one would have ever guessed the relation between the two siblings. While Hazel's skin was a warm mocha color, Nico's was the polar opposite, incredibly pale skin, almost on the verge of him constantly looking sickly. The only thing they really shared was the same father; and neither seemed to have inherited any dominant traits from him.

"Your incentive is over. It is time to resume today's schedule. Nico, you will be escorted to receive your shots momentarily, whereas Hazel, we will check your brain waves from your previous journey and then we will try a new surgery today." Hera took her finger off of the button, leaving the children to ponder those words.

Nico wished for a single moment he wasn't so attuned to his half-sister's subtle changes in posture. A stiffening of the spine, clouding of the eyes, and a brief pat of his inky hair. "W-well, I'll see you tonight."

Nico didn't know what to do. He had no idea how much this new surgery would hurt, whether she'd get anesthetics, there were too many uncertainties that he wouldn't be aware of until after the damage had been done. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Not your fault. Never your fault," Hazel said the mantra she had developed for her younger brother after they were snatched away from their semi-normal lives. "See you."

Two hulking guards that were impossible to differentiate between all the other ones came to escort both Hazel to the operating table and Nico to their cell. Whoops. He meant room.

Hazel was glad they took Nico away. When the first arrived, they made Hazel watch Nico writhe in agony while he was going through one of their operations. She was so thankful – or as much as she could be – that the same hadn't happened to Nico yet.

She was pulled down the frigid hallways where the cold seemed to bounce off of the metal walls. They finally reached a heavily armed door and after several security code entries and finger scans, she found her surgery room anxiously awaiting her arrival.

"Please lie down." Hera's smile was a counterfeit per usual as she gestured to the sterile and white bed in the middle of the room. "Unfortunately, today we cannot provide you with anesthetics, so either you will be experiencing a lot of pain, or you will pass out. We will start on your abdomen."

Hazel tightly shut her eyes and lifted her company-designated shirt so that only her stomach was revealed. She braced herself for the feel of the familiar cold metal of Hera's scalpel pressing into her stomach, and then, the pain.

**Well that just happened. Per usual, I don't own Percy Jackson, and my lawyer lost his sword, so we lost the legal battle as well. BUT, we're already planning a robbery tonight to steal the rights right out from under his nose. See you next chapter! Whenever that is!**


	3. Chapter 3: Emily and Esperanza

**Guyyyys I'm baccckk! This one took me so long because we are putting together some of my favorite friendship chemistry; Leo and Frank! And because they're here, we're gonna have a par-teh! The roof is not my son but I will raise it! Les ge starded homeez.**

"I don't get it," a small boy with calculating eyes and a goofy grin drawled, observing his disproportionate companion. "Why is your face so fat, but your body all body builder-esque?"

"Leo, I swear to God, I've told you this a million times." Previously mentioned body builder hissed at his irritating friend. "I'm just growing into myself."

"More like your face is waiting for your body to finally develop those curves you should've gotten when you hit puberty long ago, sweetheart. Cutie. Frank, darling dear." Leo winked at him, managing to piss him off to ground-breaking levels, just like every other day.

"Valdez I'm going to kill you!" Frank growled launching himself at the scrawny Leo. Sensing his immediate death, Leo rolled out-of-the-way and tsked him.

"For shame, young Frank. Canada would be very disappointed to find that one of its own is trying to strangle defenseless Latinos." Leo cackled, zipping down the carpeted stairs of the homey four-bedroom two-bathroom, house as Frank furiously hounded after him.

"Emily," Leo sang, bouncing into the kitchen and clinging to Frank's mother, "your son is trying to kill me again!"

"Leo, _que pasa_?" his mother, Esperanza, sighed, shaking her head, "_Que hiciste_?" (_Leo, what's up? What did you do?)_

"I didn't do anything, _mamá_!" Leo barely managed a straight face to try and convince the adults in the room as Frank finally thundered in.

"Aw, Esperanza, he has to be telling the truth!" Emily laughed gesturing to Leo's expression. "Just look at his little face!"

Leo winked at Frank, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Esperanza. She rolled her butterscotch colored eyes and gave Leo a light and playful smack on top of the head. "No, my son is a little liar. _Pobre_ Frank, is Leo framing you again?"

"What else does he do in his free time?" Frank muttered under his breath, before smiling at his favorite 'aunt'. "Yes, he definitely is."

"Let's just let it go," Emily ruffled her son's inky black hair and pushed him down into a seat. He grumbled a little, but smiled slightly and sat down nonetheless. "I just finished preparing dinner."

"Thank _Dios _you can cook," Esperanza grinned, pulling her hair back into a messy bun which her dark hair continued to spill out of. "I have a feeling Leo and I would starve if not for you."

"Hey, anything for my best friend and favorite nephew." Emily's fluid movements made it seem like she was dancing as she set down steaming bowls of spaghetti and meatballs on the sturdy oak table.

Once everyone was seated and Leo and Frank were fighting for first servings, the conversation started flowing effortlessly – per usual – between the Valdez and Zhang family. "So," Esperanza knew it was useless to try to get a bite to eat before their ravenous boys. "When are you going back to Afghanistan?"

"I'm supposed to be deployed again in two weeks." At first glance, Emily wouldn't seem like a soldier because of her nimble movements and small frame, but after a second look, her chiseled muscles and weary but determined and strong eyes became more apparent. "Is it fine for Frank to stay at your house?"

"Of course," Esperanza waved off the request, "Frank is always welcome here—"

"Only on Thursdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays, actually," Leo interrupted, passing the bowl of pasta over to the mothers.

"— and you know that. He and Leo work really well together in the shop."

"She uses the word 'well' extremely loosely," Frank shoveled food into his mouth as Leo nodded his head rapidly in agreement; his mouth too occupied chewing to speak.

"You know," Emily mused, placing her head on top of her folded hands, "I bet that you two wouldn't be able to last a week without each other."

Though both boys loved betting, they didn't even consider taking this one. Despite their attitudes, their only real source of entertainment came from each other. They both claimed that was their mothers' fault; if Leo's mom had never moved in next door to Frank's, they probably wouldn't have this issue.

After all the food Emily had prepared was demolished and any dessert-like item in the house was eaten, the time arrived for Emily and Esperanza's favorite conversation topic. Their boys' love lives. "So," they grinned and spoke in unison, "how are your girlfriends?"

"Well," Leo smirked cockily, "I broke up with my other girlfriend last—"

"We were talking to Frank," they cut him off, hurting his self-esteem.

"You wound me, you middle-aged blunt and incredibly harsh women," Leo admonished, dark brown eyes wide, clutching his chest.

"You know I don't have a girlfriend," Frank ducked his head, embarrassed.

"Yeah, so why don't we talk about my _newer _girlfriend, her name is Khion—"

"You used her as your girlfriend two weeks ago," Emily reminded him absent mindedly before re-focusing back on her son.

"Why not?" Esperanza frowned as she reached across the table and squeezed Frank's cheeks. "You are so cute! And very nice and smart!"

"Oh, thanks," he scratched the back of his neck that was turning a dusty red. "I don't know. None of the girls at our school interest me."

"He just means none of them would go out with him!" Leo whisper-yelled, now set on getting the attention of the dinner table.

"Frank!" his mother whined dropping her head on the table as Leo danced in the background. "I have to assume that Leo's told the truth about at least _one_ of his girlfriends, meaning he has found girls interesting enough. Why not you?"

"Frank, you two are finishing ninth grade! You'll be tenth graders next year! You need to have at least gone on a _date_!" Esperanza dramatically sighed flopping beside Emily, Leo now threatening to throw fine china out a window.

"Okay, people, I will light a match with just my fingers," Leo deadpanned in a last-ditch attempt. A tiny flame burst out from the tip of his finger tip and he gently tapped it to the candle on the end of the table, setting it on fire. He looked expectantly at everyone; the mothers still had their heads on the table and Frank was shaking his head furiously at Leo.

"U-Um, may we please be excused?" Frank asked, not really waiting for a reply as he pressed the pressure points in Leo's neck to drag him out of the kitchen. Once they were safely stationed in Frank's orange room and on top of Frank's bunk bed, he threw Leo an exasperated look.

"Leo, we're not supposed to let them know! We swore!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. It all just slipped my mind. Kind of."

"Well, don't do it again," Frank glared at his comforters, not really feel like engaging in a glowering contest with Leo.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't." Leo waved him off tiredly, already falling down on Frank's insanely comfortable bed and ready to fall asleep.

"Like heck you won't," Frank muttered turning on his side and quickly drifting off to sleep next to his current and biggest pain in the butt.

* * *

Leo was pretty much done with school. There was only two and a half more weeks left; clearly the teachers had nothing left to teach them and were just acting as Satan's helpers by keeping them in that God forsaken jail. Every day only meant walking up the dusty hill to his house again with Frank as his only company.

"Leo! Frank!" Leo heard his mom holler from the garage attached to their house. "_Necesito mis herramientas_!" (_I need my tools!)_

"We're coming, _mamá_!" Leo shouted back as he wiped the sweat that continued to stubbornly trickle down the side of his face. Though he loved living in Arizona, sometimes the heat made him want to smack somebody. He was so lucky that Frank was always around.

"What kind of car is she working on, again?" Frank sent silent thanks up to whatever omnipotent presence allowed him to reach the summit.

"Lamborghini Gallardo," Leo didn't bother to conceal the longing in his face as he approached the completely gorgeous machine. Its 5.2-liter V-10 and its modular aluminum space frame never failed to send delighted shivers down his spine. He looked down at his mom – lucky little mechanic – who had the privilege to be rolled underneath the frame tinkering at the little bugs. "_Mamá, _can I have one? Pretty please? For your beautiful little boy?"

"Absolutely not, my wonderful little mistake," she laughed from underneath the car, reaching her tan and calloused hand out expectantly. "Torque wrench, please! And grab me my PB Blaster Frank!"

"Yeah, yeah," Leo rolled his eyes, heading towards the side of the garage where she hung all of her wrenches as Frank passed her the blaster. "_Mamá_, when am I allowed to fix one of the cars on my own?"

She rolled out from underneath the beauty, grease swiped across her face and a proud smile stretching across her lips. "Soon, baby. Maybe the next one?"

Leo held in a squeal of excitement. What if the next car was a Porsche? He bit his fist and hid his smile as his mother slid back under the vehicle.

"Esperanza, there are a few men outside! Say they want to talk to you about a big repair!" Frank grinned at the guys. He knew Esperanza deserved as much money as she could make, being one of kindest people he knew.

Esperanza quickly got out from underneath the car and wiped her hands with a less-than-clean rag and beamed at the men, holding out her hand. "Good afternoon, gentleman. My name is Esperanza Valdez. What can I do for you?"

"Luke Castellan," the man in front with blonde hair and a pretty smile shook her hand. "These are my associates, Charles and Chris. Is it possible for us to talk inside?"

"Sure," she swept her hair out of her face and opened up the door to her air-conditioned home. "Come inside." Once they were all ushered into the living room she stuck her head out of the door, "You two stay out of trouble, and hands off the car." She gave them a playful wink before disappearing inside.

Leo and Frank remained outside playing one of their favorite past times. Who will say uncle first when assorted screws and tools are thrown at each other, while Leo secretly slipped some of his mother's favorite tools in the baggy pockets of his jeans. The conversation in the house rose in pitch for a few moments, but Leo dismissed it when it went back to its original tone.

Finally, when Leo was about to concede after a particularly well-aimed hammer thrown by Frank, everybody came out. Leo examined his mom to make sure everything was alright, but all she gave him in response was a tight-lipped smile. "Leo, Mr. Castellan said that you and Frank were accepted to a boarding school. Frank, Emily already gave her permission for you to attend, and they snuck your stuff out to the car." Esperanza gave a laugh that seemed to sear her throat. "You're going to go with them in a few minutes."

"W-What?!" Frank exclaimed, completely bewildered. "Mom?"

"Leo, baby, come here, let me give you a big hug goodbye," Esperanza held out her arms, tears shining in her eyes.

He didn't really understand what was going on, but he had a bad feeling about it. He ignored his inner-manly protests and ran into her arms, taking comfort in her firm embrace that always smelled of metal and oil. The perfect combination. She leaned back, tucking a lock of his curly dark hair behind his ear before leaning next to his cheek, as if to give him a kiss. "Leo, don't let them ever break you. You're my son and we never lose because we're Valdez's. And we kick ass." She smiled through her tears that were now freely falling down her cheeks. "I love you so, so much."

Leo didn't understand, but he numbly nodded. Esperanza turned to Frank and pulled him into her hug. "I'm so sorry Emilia didn't get to say goodbye to you. But she and I both love you a ton, 'kay Frank?"

"Yeah," he sounded a little choked and Leo couldn't blame him. He didn't know when he was going to see his mom again once he was at this boarding school – he never even applied, how did he get accepted? – Frank didn't even get to say goodbye.

"_Lettuce_ get in the car, guys," the bigger guy, Charles, Leo was pretty sure, grinned and opened the door and ushered them inside. "Sorry about the pun. Some kids appreciate them more than others." No one noticed Luke whisper something in Esperanza's ear, as he subtly hand-cuffed her wrist to one of her work tables.

"Hey, we love puns as much as the next kids getting spontaneously ripped away from their homes for boarding school," Leo gave Charles a thumbs-up as he clambered into the back seat, behind Leo and Frank.

"Perfect," Luke smiled at them as he slipped into the driver's seat. "We love senses of humor."

"Some kids we got a few years ago couldn't take a joke," Frank hadn't even seen Chris get in the passenger seat. "They were brother and sister; black hair and a little too old-fashioned Italian. They didn't understand the meaning of the word laugh, I don't think."

The group continued to laugh and talk, not even noticing the smell of flames coming from the direction of Leo's garage and house.

* * *

"Now, Frank, you're going to be staying in this room. We trust you kids so the rooming is co-ed. Don't have sex. Please." Luke snickered; his young face and immature jokes lead Frank to believe he was only a few years older than Leo and himself. "Your roommates are Hazel and Nico DiAngelo. They're interesting kids, but I think you'll get along well with them. Plus, Hazel is kind of cute." Luke nudged Frank's shoulder as he opened the door to the room and allowed him to meander inside.

"Leo," Luke walked down the hallway and opened another door. Leo whistled at the room. "This is your room. Your roommates are Percy and Annabeth."

He hadn't gotten a very good look when they let Frank in. There were three queen-sized beds with incredibly soft looking comforters and blankets; though he would've slept on the plush, rich red carpet it was so soft. One of the beds was covered in owls and quotes from different intellects through the years – Leo had a feeling the person who slept there was definitely smarter than he was. The other bed was a deep blue with lines drawn across, casting the appearance of an ocean. He almost didn't notice the boy sitting on top of them.

"Luke," the boy had messy black hair and cautious green eyes, almost as if he was constantly expecting something bad to happen. "When will Annabeth be back?"

"Not sure," Luke nudged his head towards Percy. "Leo, that's Percy. If you need anything, my number is on the door and you can call me on the phone beside your bed."

Luke slammed the door shut. Leo didn't hear the sound of it locking as he sat on the bed with amber and scarlet flames dancing across the fabric. He smiled at the Percy kid. "Hey, the name's Leo. How's it going?"

Percy looked confused. "Um, yeah. My name's Percy. You seem oddly at ease."

"I guess," he shrugged still fascinated by the big and luxurious room. "When do classes start?"

"Classes?" realization dawned on Percy's face and his earlier guarded expression was replaced with a sympathetic one. "Classes won't be starting. We're here as human guinea pigs because we're "special"."

"W-What?"

"Yeah, I've heard they've used boarding school as an excuse before." Percy studied Leo with more interest than before, a small, sad smile on his lips. "What's your skill? I have a thing for water. Our roommate Annabeth - I think you'll like her – can read minds."

Leo didn't know how he responded. Everything was blurry and his mind was racing, mostly screaming, 'What about his mom?' Suddenly, the door was slowly opened, a limping blonde figure making her way in, dressed in a gray sports bra and sweatpants. Blood dripped through her fingers where they held the side of her exposed stomach. On her entrance, Percy rushed to her side and scooped her up in his arms and placed her delicately on his bed.

He brushed her blonde princess curls away from her forehead and murmured something Leo couldn't hear in her ears. Leo flushed a bit, feeling as though he was intruding on an intimate moment.

"This is Annabeth, Leo," Percy's face was a combination between fury, affection, and despair. "And this is what they do to us."

**I finished this story off on a note completely opposing my current mood. I was eating a klondike bar listening to comedy radio on pandora, otherwise known as pure bliss.**

**My word that everybody should know for the rest of the year is:**

**Defenstrate (De-fen-eh-strate); verb - the act of throwing something out a window**


	4. Chapter 4: Group Time

**Hi! I'm back and I'm sorry for such a long break! I've had a lot of group projects, and in group projects I always do all the work, so I've been a little bit tired and busy. Anyway, guys Piper and Jason! Yee!**

"Let me go!" a girl with choppy brown hair shrieked as she struggled against the restraints of two men; the bigger one doing most of the subduing, while the more scrawny one whispered urgently into his ear-piece. Forming words was getting more difficult as each second passed, so growls and snarls replaced her sentences.

"Piper," the larger one with black hair grunted as she kicked and clawed when one of her limbs was freed. "I need you to try and behave! I know you can't help it, but if you keep it up Hera'll—"

The sound of doors whisking open barely registered in the back of Piper's mind. Fury clouded higher judgment and the rationality she usually retained on experimentation days. Hera's cold and calculated expression filled her narrowed vision, a long needle clenched between her slender fingers. Piper gnashed her teeth at her, shocking whatever normal part of her was left. "Charles, how long has it been since the injection?"

"46 minutes and twenty seven seconds," he finally managed to slap ankle-cuffs on her legs, eliminating the kicking problem. "What the hell did you give her?"

Hera studied Piper's feral expression and her wild eyes. While they normal subtly shifted between brown, green and blue, her beautiful kaleidoscope eyes were flashing to different colors every second. "We were testing to see if emotions affected her persuasion. We were also considering re-naming it 'charmspeak'. Catchy, isn't it? At any rate, we chose to give her a serum that would spike her oxytocin levels." She lifted Piper's chin so that they were eye to eye, quickly pulling back when Piper went to bite her. "Obviously we gave her too high of a dosage. I was going to give her this and lower the hormone," she glanced at the needle in her hand and set it on a table in the room. "But let's see how Jason deals with this. Send her back to her room."

Charles shook his head and efficiently tied Piper's wrists together with ropes. He tossed her over his shoulder and muttered, "Sorry, kid," as he carted her off to her and Jason's room. Once at the door, he slid the keys to Piper's ankle cuffs underneath the door to Jason. "Be careful, bro. They gave her something and she's a little crazy now."

Charles swung open the door and set Piper down. As if sensing he was about to leave, she lunged at him one last time as he closed the door. Her tan face met with the door, sending a jolt of pain through her body.

"Pipes?" an incredibly familiar and soothing voice asked cautiously.

She struggled to turn around and identify this newer threat. Something about his blonde hair and angry blue eyes made her heart ache, but her body still screamed enemy. He slowly approached her with a silver key in his hands. He leaned towards her ankles, not breaking eye-contact the entire time. She hissed and inched until her back was pressed against the door.

"Piper, I'm not going to hurt you. Jason, remember? You can trust me." He gently grasped her ankles and unlocked the cuffs, sliding them off of her legs. She barred her teeth, but didn't seem like she was about to attack, so he inched slightly closer. He carefully reached his hand forward and placed it on her cheek, "Pipes, you're stronger than whatever they gave you."

Something ate at the back of her mind; something that kept her from attacking Jason as he began to untie the ropes chaffing against her wrists. With every movement, Piper felt herself regaining some kind of sensibility. Instead of roaring, she choked out, "Ja…son?"

His face filled with relief as he wrapped his arms around her. She shuddered and he knelt his forehead against hers. "You're alright, Pipes. It's all good."

Every second in his arms seemed to slowly cause lucid thoughts to invade the unstable ones. She forced out a shaky laugh. "It's never good."

"Well, you aren't trying to kill anybody anymore," Jason grinned at her, pulling them both to their feet. Once they were both seated on Jason's sky blue bed, Piper finally felt completely normal. Well, as normal as one could feel when people fell under the charm of your voice.

"I'm so tired," Piper leaned her head against Jason's firm shoulder, tears pricking at her eyes. "I don't want to feel like that again."

"I would tell you to fall asleep and forget about it, but we have mandatory group time tonight." His eyes lit up slightly at the thought of seeing the others.

"It's been a while," murmured Piper, a smile playing on her lips. "I miss Annabeth."

"Well, good luck talking to her," Jason laughed thinking of the Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl. "She and Percy are always together."

"I'm fine talking to both of them!" Piper said defensively. "Percy's funny!"

"Percy's a dumb ass."

"Sh," Piper shushed him, holding back a smile. "He doesn't know that yet," a yawn tore itself from her full lips and her eyelashes began to softly flutter close. "Wake me up when it's time, okay? And I'm – I'm really sorry about today."

"Not your fault, Pipes," Jason ruffled her hair, though having a sneaking suspicion that she was already asleep. Jason pinched his temple; he needed to talk to Percy, allotting the desired solo time between Annabeth and Piper. Things were getting worse. Piper hadn't seen her reflection since her injection in the morning, but her eyes still had not settled down, and there was a dark red spot on her shoulder; almost as if the blood vessels had burst underneath her usually clearskin.

"We're getting out soon," Jason muttered, pushing his blonde hair out of his weary face.

* * *

"This is asinine," Annabeth voiced Piper's thoughts as Percy and Jason grinned challengingly at each other. They were poised at both ends of the rec room, apples balanced on top of each other's heads. Percy clenched and unclenched his fingers as he prepped to knock the apple off of Jason's head.

The room designed for the abnormal children was perfect. The velvet-carpeted room was separated into two halves; one completely barren except for a plush couch for the subjects to test their powers, the other filled with arbitrary items used to amuse and slightly normalize the subjects. Walls painted a variety of pastels made the room a perfect place to raise and maintain such powerful children.

"I agree," Nico stared at the pair, drumming his fingers against the pool table. He turned back towards the girls – as they had decided to try their best to ignore the boy's antics – and picked up his pool stick. "Who's turn is it?"

"Still Annabeth's. I swear she could formulate a plan to eat cereal in the morning," Piper teased as Annabeth glared at her, focusing her pool stick against the blue striped ball.

"You don't spend a lot of mornings with her do you," Percy casted an amused glance towards the others as he lifted his fingers to complete the task. "She does."

He flicked his fingers in the direction of Jason, a bullet of water whipping out. It sailed towards the intended target at a dangerously low spot, successfully knocking the apple off and scaring the crap out of Jason. "You almost hit me!"

"But alas, I did not," Percy re-balanced the fruit on his head. "My fine gentleman, you may begin."

Jason didn't even blink at Percy's suggestion before blasting a bolt of lightning his way. Percy yelped and ducked, the attack knocking the apple off his head and splattering the wall. Percy shot up, outraged. "You were going to hit me! If I hadn't ducked you might've killed me!"

"But alas, I did not," Jason sighed, his voice filled with false melancholy.

"Are they both still alive?" Piper absent mindedly asked as she hit her solid yellow ball, narrowly missing the cue ball.

"Nico," Hazel and Annabeth droned, not caring enough to tear their eyes away from this close game.

Nico heard their obnoxiously loud fighting and sighed, "Yes."

"Wow," Hazel laughed, sticking her hand in her pocket to search for something. She brought out a ten-dollar bill and placed it in Annabeth's smugly awaiting hand. "I should know not to bet against you, but I actually thought one of them would be seriously maimed this time."

"Nico, my money is on the ping-pong table," Piper jerked her head towards the table, taking another try at hitting her mark. She didn't mean to charmspeak her way into another chance; _honest_. "I bet him that Jason would burn off the top of Percy's head," she commented as Nico placed the money in his black jeans with a large amount of satisfaction.

"They don't seem to be paying attention," Jason breathed as Percy continued to loudly argue with himself. "Give us a brief excuse."

"Jason," Percy suddenly shouted, "Let me read you a story!" he grabbed Jason's arm and shoved him on the couch, grabbing a book.

"Don't give us too much PDA," Nico finally stood up to the table for his turn and managed to knock in three striped balls, taking another step closer to victory for team Nico/Annabeth.

Percy crossed his legs and faced Jason, holding up a copy of _Olivia the Pig__. _"Before we go over any of the logistics, is everything alright down in the Jasper residence?"

"They put something in her this morning," Jason tightened his fingers on the edges of the couch, his gaze wandering over to where Piper laughed and joked with the others. "She looked crazed. I think it's just going to get worse."

Percy glanced up from the third page of the incredibly riveting children's book. "It never really gets better. They tried swapping my and Annabeth's blood to see if it would make our powers fluctuate. Unfortunately the difference in our blood types caused our bodies to reject the blood," Percy shuddered and paled slightly, as if still sick. The scientists managed to keep them alive, but the process had caused them to be bedridden for days.

"Glad to know your week has been okay." Jason ran a hand through his fair locks. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"You're talking to me. About planning." Percy deadpanned. "Yeah, no."

"Fair. So, obviously we need to start with the security cameras." Jason drew an imaginary map to help himself keep his thoughts organized. "Annabeth would probably be able to find the place if she concentrated right before they put up the telekinetic walls. With the location, Nico or I would probably go with Piper so she could convince the staff to shut the camera's connections off."

"With the cameras off," Realization dawned on Percy's face and he almost shut the book, breaking the façade, "Hazel would be able to find us an underground tunnel. If she could lead us to the ocean, I would be able to sustain oxygen down there and we could get out!"

"Shut the hell up!" Jason hissed, his eyes whipping back and forth in search of a sign that somebody had heard Percy's brash confession. "Yes exactly like that."

"Are you two done yet?" Piper called holding a stack of cards in her hands. "We voted on playing B.S. while you two had your cuddle time."

"Who won?" Percy questioned, shakily closing the book. Annabeth bumped Nico's fist.

"Us, of course," Annabeth shared a smirk with Nico as they all settled around in a circle on the carpet. Percy wrapped his arm around Annabeth's waist, dragging her closer as Hazel dealt the cards.

"You okay?" Piper asked curiously, noticing Jason's gleaming eyes and intertwined their fingers.

"We will be." Jason squeezed her hand and focused on calling Percy's bull shit.

* * *

"It's kind of amusing," Luke mused while listening in to their two little freaks' conversations. "They actually think they can do it."

"They're thirteen, what do you expect? An illusion of superiority is their everyday activity." Hera studied her cuticles and swiveled around to face their transport coordinator, Hermes. "Don't we have two new ones coming in a year or so?"

"Sounds about right," Hermes stretched, in turn flexing his massive muscles. Nearly all the older employees were around the six-foot and above range, which terrified newbie's to no end.

"I'm excited about these next two." Aphrodite tapped her blood-red nails together and looked at her perfect reflection in the mirror. Unblemished creamy skin, platinum blonde hair that framed her high cheek bones wonderfully; oh yes, she was just flawless per usual. "Hazel is our only little girl who doesn't have a strong man to take care of her. A brother just isn't the same," she sighed mournfully.

"Can we let 'em try and escape?" a giant brute of a man named Ares snarled, a smile playing on his coarse face. "I love watching 'em run."

"Why not?" Hera's brittle smile seemed to cut through the monitors. "Over 2,000 experiments later and you think they would learn."

**Guys I finally finished this chapter it took me so freaking long dear jesus. I just wanted to warn you guys I kind of changed up the ages and some other stuff so let's just go over this quickly:**

**This happened when they were 13. The previous chapter I changed Leo and Frank's ages to 14 (I stated ninth grade), which would mean that this chapter happened BEFORE they came. And the second chapter, technically happened after all of that! (Still wondering on whether or not to change that) ANYWAY THAT IS IT. Thank you for reading after so long I love you guys so much!**

**The word of the day is:**

**Eviscerate: Or to remove the guts of/disembowel**


	5. Chapter 5: The Di Angelo's

**Why hello there! I did not see you there because I was too focused on the appearance of our lovely two adorable Italian siblings! Hey people, did you know that Nico is the older sibling? I finally figured it out and was like, "Shiiiiiiiit." SO. As of right now, Nico is older than Hazel, and the whole scene in chapter 2? Just pretend Nico is the older one XD THANKSS**

"Bianca, Bianca, Bianca!" Hazel squealed, skipping into her older sister's room. Bianca was resting comfortably on her small bed. Besides a desk and dresser, you couldn't really fit much more in her room, so Hazel opted to hop up on to the bed rather than navigate around the tiny room. "I wanna play Twister, but mommy's working with a customer so she can't play," her rosy lips slipped into a playful pout.

"Of course I'll play. Have you asked Nico yet?" Bianca inquired patiently, silently shutting the cover of her book. Her gaze was amused, but tired; she wished her mother was home more often to play with Hazel so she could have some free time herself.

Hazel gasped, the thought having not occurred to her. "No! Do you think he'll play with us?"

"I'm sure if you ask him he will," Bianca smiled, gently pushing Hazel out of the room. "Come and get me if he says yes. Twister is much more fun with more people."

"Nico!" Hazel squeaked, slipping on the splintered wood floors as she slid into the room that Nico and she shared. He glanced up from his Nintendo as he lounged on his and Hazel's bed. The corners of his lips quirked up, like he was trying not to smile. Assuming she had seen Bianca before she came running after him, he was shocked that Bianca didn't make her put pants over her _My Little Pony _underwear. "Play Twister with me and Bianca!"

Nico outstretched his arms and Hazel bounced into them, snuggling her head against his neck. "Hazel," he struggled to frown and put disapproval in his tone, "What's the nice way to ask me that?"

She harrumphed, her bangs momentarily flying up. "Will you please play with Bianca and me? Pretty please? Pretty please with cherries and sprinkles and lots o' love on top?"

"Well since you asked so nicely," he ruffled her hair and gripped her small hand in his developing one. "Let's go grab Bianca and the game board."

"Bianca, he said yes!" she shouted excitedly from the hallway. "Come on, come on, come on!"

"I'll grab Twister," Bianca laughed at their over-energized younger sister. "Nico, did she seriously convince you?"

"There wasn't much convincing involved," he shook his head as Bianca emerged, the box in her hands. "I also knew if I said no she'd have one of her tantrums."

Hazel looked curiously at her older siblings as they spread the Twister mat across the floor. "What's a tantrum?"

"It's when you yell at us for not giving you something," Bianca flicked the little arrow to make sure everything was in order for a prime Twister game. "Who wants to be on the mat first?"

Hazel's hand shot into the air and she waved it around wildly, while pointing furiously at Nico. Bianca grinned, "How about Hazel and Nico?"

"Nico, Nico, we won!" she jumped up and down ecstatically. He shook his head and positioned himself at the opposite end of the mat. "Okay, Bianca what color, what color?"

"Left hand, red," Nico casually placed his hand on the second red closest to him, figuring he should leave one open. Unfortunately, the nine-year-old had forgotten what an irritating Twister player his seven-year-old sister was. She reached all the way across the floor to put her left hand underneath Nico to the red closest to him.

"Right foot, yellow," before Nico could react, Hazel struck her leg out to the farthest yellow, covering all the others. Nico attempted to put his foot under her leg, but ultimately failed and tumbled to the floor. He glared at her. "Hazel, that's cheating."

"Not-uh," she jutted her hip out and glowered at Nico. Bianca filled with dread as she predicted a fight approaching. As the oldest – only thirteen years old though – she would be forced to deal with the inner-sibling conflict.

"You can't do that!" Nico was close to yelling.

"Why not?" Hazel demanded, hands on her hips and tears welling in her eyes. She hated being shouted at and she hated arguing with her siblings. "You're being mean!"

"You're being obstinate!" he growled, mentally priding himself on the fact that he used one of his vocabulary words.

"Don't use words I don't know," Hazel cried, dropping to the ground and burying her head in her arms. Bianca crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Nico caught sight of her disapproving expression and instantly felt guilty. Bianca pointed firmly at Hazel and waited patiently for his move. Nico sighed and slipped his hands under Hazel's arms, lifting her up into the air, and struggling to place her on his hip. Despite his taller-than-normal height, he still had the muscles of a child, making carrying his sister difficult.

He patted her head and muttered, "Sorry, Hazel."

Her face immediately brightened up and she leaned over to give him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I didn't mean to cheat."

"Well, now everything's better, so it doesn't matter," Bianca placed her hands on both of their shoulders. "And Mom should be done with her client soon."

"Yay!" Hazel danced around in a circle. She paused dramatically and looked at her brother and sister. "Should I get a jewel for when she comes back?"

Bianca nodded, while Nico casted his gaze downward. He didn't know why his older sister and mother approved of Hazel using her powers like this. It only risked exposure and put the baby of the family in danger. Not to mention himself. If someone were to find out about her abnormal magnetization with riches and tunnels, that would eventually lead to them discovering his affiliation with the… deceased.

Hazel closed her eyes and held out her hand, a glistening ruby materializing in her hand. She giggled in delight at the sight of the gem. Bianca smiled and nodded, clasping the ruby in her hand and traveling around their petite apartment to the kitchen. She placed it on the table and started to shuffle around, looking for ingredients for dinner. The sound of front door opening made all the children turn around and look towards the entrance to the kitchen as their mom arrived. What surprised them, though, were the people trailing in behind her.

"Hello children," Marie Di Angelo gave her children a warning smile. She pulled her dark black hair matching her children's into a ponytail. "My customers today were interested in procuring one of our gems. Mr. Castellan, Mr. Beckendorf, Mr. Nakamura, these are my children Bianca, Nico, and Hazel."

They all nodded their heads towards the three men. Well, actually, they all seemed fairly young, but Hazel shook it off and picked up her gem off the table, presenting it to the men proudly. "Here you go!"

"It's beautiful," Mr. Castellan plucked it from her tiny fingers and gazed at it as the light turned blood red through the jewel. He bent down to Hazel's eye level and offered his hand, smiling pleasantly, "My name is Luke, this is Beckendorf, and this is Ethan. How did you obtain this beautiful ruby?"

Just as Hazel was about to explain her gem-mining process, Nico clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her backwards towards him. "She's very lucky when she goes digging. Take the ruby, and then please leave."

"Nico!" Marie exclaimed, turning apologetically to the foreign group. "I'm so sorry about my son's attitude; he's always had a bit of trouble socializing with strangers."

"It's fine," Luke shook his head, almost as if he was amused and tousled Nico's hair. "We think Nico is interesting as well."

"What do you mean?" Bianca finally spoke up, taking a slightly protective stance in front of her brother.

"You see," Luke flicked a card out from his black jacket and handed it to Marie, "we're a part of an organization that takes children with special talents and studies them, so we can discover what makes these kids so… special. We hope that maybe you would allow Nico and Hazel to come with us so that they can join our program."

Bianca attempted to protest, but Marie cut her off. "I don't feel comfortable with the idea of sending my kids off with that vague amount of information."

"Of course, that's completely understandable." Beckendorf nodded. "They would be fed three meals a day and be kept in top shape. Once they arrived in our program, we would not be able to promise any contact with you or their oldest sister."

"Mom, they can't go!" Bianca panicked after hearing about her being separated from her siblings. "You can't let them take Nico and Hazel!"

"I'm afraid Bianca is right," Marie apologized. "I couldn't bear to part with my children like that."

"Yeah! We would never go anywhere Mama and Bianca weren't!" Hazel told them with a serious look on her face.

Luke stared at the group, looking almost sad. "I'm sorry to hear that. You two definitely would not join us without your sister and mother?" Hazel and Nico nodded their heads furiously. Ethan and Beckendorf had heavy and melancholy expressions on their faces.

"We're sorry, Nico, Hazel. You will be coming to the facility." Before anybody could blink, Marie was on the floor, her neck at a strange angle. Bianca screamed as Luke shook out his hands, as if they were sore from breaking her neck. Nico's face was twisted in anguish and Hazel looked at everybody's faces, not sure of what was ensuing.

"One down, one to—" Nico stepped in front of Bianca, his hands clenched.

"You can't touch her."

A skeletal hand grasped the ground and struggled to pull itself on to the earth's surface. Nico collapsed on to the ground as it rose to stand on its bony legs. "Nico!" Bianca lifted his body so that it rested against his own. Hazel's eyes were wide and her lips quivered as she started sobbing.

Luke didn't look shocked at the new skeleton warrior. He unsheathed a golden dagger and quickly grabbed Bianca holding his dagger against her throat. "Nico, I know you can get rid of the skeleton. I might not kill your sister if you can do this for me."

Nico shakily lifted his head and focused his gaze on his warrior, and suddenly it was gone. Luke nodded approvingly at the fading boy and slid his knife across Bianca's throat. She fell to the ground, dead, blood gushing from the wound. Hazel screeched and scrambled backwards as her sister's blood reached out further and further.

"I lied Nico. Terribly sorry. Now we have no one holding you two back," Luke stared at Hazel as she cowered behind Nico's body. "We should be going now."

**Thank you for listening to me about the whole age thing in the first part! We finished another chapter and Netflix has been very good to me lately, so I'm thinking that things are going well, no? Somebody, teach me how to speak French. Somebody, I will teach you how to be a total bitch to bitches. It's a useful skill. THANKS GUYS. LEAVE A COMMENT I ALWAYS APPRECIATE IT. LOVE YOUUU.**


	6. Chapter 6: Chess Time

**Hey y'allll wasssup. Thought I'd give you a little chapter before I headed out into the rough terrain that is Harrisburg, so enjoy! If you dare.**

"Check," Annabeth knocked Nico's queen off the board, and rather than growling at the checkered board, his lips twitched into a small smile as he moved his pawn forward. Annabeth and Nico were sitting on the ground on either side of a chess board while Piper watched intently from the side.

"Checkmate."

"Another tie!" Piper exclaimed in awe. Nico and Annabeth played four games of chess every time they had group time, and each time they ended up equal. This time, Annabeth didn't seem as overly-exasperated as usual though about their draw.

She sighed and rested her head against her folded arms. Piper looked around the room worriedly, but Hazel was quietly immersed in her book on the other side of the room. "Percy's still not back yet?"

"No," Annabeth said miserably, "Jason?"

"No," Piper replied, her tone just as desolate. "It's been a week since the attempt, what are they doing to them?"

Annabeth remembered the day like it was yesterday. It probably was based on how fresh the guilt wrenching her heart felt. Jason and Percy had told the group about their escape plan. It sounded brilliant, with a few minor flaws that Annabeth could have pointed out, but chose not to because she didn't want to dampen the mood. Now she wished she could go back and scream about how idiotic it all was. As soon as they tried leaving the security room, Ares – head of discipline – was waiting there with a smirk on his rough and ugly face.

Percy and Jason were dragged away, because apparently it was solely their fault for creating the plan. Annabeth and Piper had screamed to let the two go, but Hera simply had Luke and Chris force them back into their rooms. The new subjects were supposed to come in next week, which only meant that more kids would go through hell with them.

Everything was just _fucking_ peachy.

"They'll be back soon guys," Nico awkwardly assured them; he wasn't used to being the source of comfort, but he felt responsible since Piper and Annabeth were like his sisters. Piper flashed him a small smile and bumped his shoulder with hers.

"For such a dark and moody 15-year-old, you sure have a soft side," she giggled, eager for a change of conversation topic. She called over suggestively to Hazel, "I heard the two new ones are both 13 and boys! Maybe you should get to know them, right Hazel?"

"What?" she asked absent mindedly turning the page of her book, while Nico's expression morphed into one of total astonishment and then irritation.

"No. No familiarizing with the new kids!" Nico growled, unsure of how to deal with this upcoming threat. He never really had to worry about anybody going after his sister. Percy was attached to Annabeth's hip when they first came, and Piper and Jason were each other's a few days after he arrived. But now, he had two brats there were going to have very specific boundaries that were not to be crossed.

Annabeth gave a small laugh as she set the pieces back up. Usually after she played Nico, she would play against herself. She never told Nico or Piper, but she resigned herself to play at his skill level so that they could tie. The only time she could really unleash her full mental potential on the game was with herself. It also helped that she couldn't really read her own mind.

While she used to have to concentrate to connect to others' thoughts, her power had become more potent through her time at the facility. Everybody's feelings and comments were constantly whirring through her mind and it took incredible amounts of concentration to shut them out. Percy was the only thing that could slightly numb the thoughts around her.

God she missed him.

"Group time is over," Hera's voice buzzed over the intercom. "Return to your rooms within the next five minutes. Any—"

"—body leftover will be escorted back to their rooms by Ares," Piper, Hazel, and Annabeth mocked, laughing.

"See you guys, tomorrow-ish?" Hazel furrowed her eyebrows, not sure when the next group time would be. "Come on, Nico!" she grabbed his hand and they turned right down the hallway to their room.

Annabeth and Piper linked arms and meandered down the opposite hallway. Annabeth loved Hazel, but she felt like she and Piper were almost like long-lost sisters. Not like she would ever admit that out loud. She had standards for the professionalism she maintained in front of her friends. Something a lot of people don't have.

They bid each other goodbye and opened the doors to their respective rooms. Right after Annabeth closed the door, she was positive two high-pitched female screeches resounded at the same time.

She ran towards Percy who was lying on his ocean comforter and tackled him in a hug. For the first fifteen seconds, she didn't register his deep laugh and pained cringes. She finally pulled back and continuously apologized. He grinned and pressed his lips against her temple, "I'm so glad to see you're okay."

"You look horrible," she told him honestly. Black and blue flowers blossomed across the right side of his face and there was a stitched up gash on his forehead. Tiny incisions and dark bruises swelled across his bare arms and legs.

"Yeah, they weren't so happy about our little excaventure," his jade eyes twinkled. "I made up that word with Jason while we were in isolation. With each other. They weren't very good at the whole isolation thing."

"What does excaventure even mean?" she tucked her head under Percy's chin and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"It means like, an adventure that was executed."

"You're a complete idiot," she snickered and just basked in the warmth of his laugh and body. "I'm kind of pleased you're back."

"Wow. Annabeth being nice. They must have messed with me harder than I thought," he said with mock horror.

"Oh, shut up, seaweed brain," she smacked him on one of the many bruises that littered his body and he winced. Her eyes widened, "Sorry."

"It's fine, wise girl. I'm just," he clutched his heart and rolled off the bed on to the soft carpeted floor, "having a heart attack!"

"You over dramatic princess," she rolled her eyes and snaked her arms around his plush pillow, her face turning serious. "What did they do to you?"

"They tried a few injections, for scientific purposes of course," his eyes were distant while he laughed, his voice devoid of humor. "They kept missing my veins, hence the bruises."

"I'm impressed you used the word hence," she muttered, unable to keep the comment in. He smiled and gestured to his face.

"We were yelling a lot after first getting dragged away, so Ares did this. A few other things happened and now I'm like this." He gave her a crooked smile, his inky hair falling in front of his eyes. Sympathy pounded inside of Annabeth, making her head hurt. She reached forward and brushed his hair back and he caught her hand, squeezing it. "Don't give me that look. I'm fine."

"I don't have a look," she pulled back and glared at him. "That was my regular face. _This_ is my regular face. I don't have a look!"

"No, hear me out. Your eyebrows kinda dip down and one side of your mouth turns up, like a smile, while the other turns down."

"It's not a look! I don't even know what you're talking about," she leaped over to my bed and faced the wall, not willing to admit he was right.

Annabeth assumed he felt sorry, because his firm arms slid around her waist and he nuzzled her neck. A small smile played across her lips and she gently smoothed her thumb over one of his bruises. She adored times like these; when she could forget that they were prisoners. Pretend that something next to normal existed.

"You totally have a look."

**Heyyy guys. Quick serious note: Keep the families of the stabbing in your hearts tonight beacause that's just the worst thing, and it was in my area, so it's basically scary. **

**Short little chapter for you guys, felt like I owed it to you! I was also craving a little percabeth fluff soooo. I complied to my wishes. HoH reference by the way guys, can you find it? Guess what? I have an 100 math test tomorrow and a 98 points science test and a 60 point history test tomorrow! I'M SO STRESSED! LOVE YOU! REVIEW FOLLOW I'M AN ATTENTION WHORE DO SOMETHING~!**


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